...........freepers,I currently am on a long term visit to St. Maarten but spent a year in the US Virgin Islands recently. Here's some background regarding a portion of an article I have cut and pasted below: The US Virgin Islands does not have a voting representative in D.C. It does have a non voting person present and ensconced there in D.C. Her name is Donna Christenson. She has made the following proposal (below) which, in effect, and if granted, would reward 50+ years of corruption related to mis use and or mis appropriation of public funds by the government power authority (WAPA)and the USVI government itself. Essentially, they are one and the same. Residential power rates are now .49 per kwh and will undoubtedly go to at or near $1.00 if they don't get this money and soon. Scores, if not hundreds of businesses have closed because the electrical bill arrives and they simply cannot pay it. Murder rate (per 100k of people) is # 8 in the world just ahead of South Africa, # 9. They do need the money because they so ineptly handled their relations with Hovensa (large refinery owned by Hess and Chavez)over the past 50 years that Hess jr, in effect, told the VI gov't and WAPA to GTH last January and shut down the worlds 6th largest refinery (at one time) 90 days later. You know, same old story, they "taxed and regulated and unappreciated them out of existence". Like US politicians the past 50 years, the USVI pols have not served the people well and now it is getting to where the rubber is going to meet the road, and soon. The current pols down here in the Caribbean that sent Ms. Christenson to Washington with this proposal are indeed desperate. With no credit and no cash (like Detroit),frantic is probably a better word. The pols MAIN problem is, Hovensa employed 25% of the people on St. Croix AND provided all of USVI with cheap subsidized fuel for their near worn out public power generators. Those days are OVER Dec. 31! Top officials I have talked to fear the necessity of mobilizing the National Guard because at a dollar per kwh, no one can afford to live or work there and grocery stores will close as they can't keep food refrigerated. Hungry people get irrational quick. Here below is only a portion of her proposal, it was too long to put it all in. In short though, Detroit is much bigger but this phenom of public corruption and incompetence, ingrained for decades, is coming to a head ALL OVER !!! .A proposal that every tax filer in the U.S. kick in $1 to come up with $1,000 for every resident of the USVI. Christensen bill seeks $115 million from feds for WAPA energy crisis ST. THOMAS  V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen introduced a bill this week to give more than $100 million in federal funds to the V.I. Water and Power Authority. She said Wednesday that the bill likely will have to be reintroduced when the 113th Congress convenes Jan. 3. The bill, called the Virgin Islands Energy Crisis Relief Act, does three things:  It would make the U. S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities take $100 million from its existing loan program and turn it into a grant for WAPA to subsidize fuel costs.  It would authorize the U.S. Commerce Department to make $15 million in grants available to help WAPA convert its generators from burning oil to burning liquid natural gas.  It would allow for more assistance to come to the territory through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program known as LIHEAP program. The program provides direct subsidies to consumers. The situation is so serious for homes and businesses that were looking for any kind of money that could be applied, Christensen said.